I can see his point but on the other hand it sounds like something else that the community wants to keep to itself. Maybe if other nationalities started to be able to put the correct flavours and spices in curries then there would be restaurants developing which were not asian. I think it's a nice idea to be able to share the knowledge with everybody.

Since when has "cooking a mean Curry" been justification for not abiding by our laws? I dont think that Asian countries would allow my wife to flout their laws, just coz she makes a cracking Roast!

Dave I think your missing the point, the issue is not that there are lots of great curry chefs who go round breaking the law it is, that as the public we have a decision to make do we a) want to ensure that all legal immigrant are subject to the English speaking requirement of the points system regardless, or B) allow some skilled people to score higher into he area of their skill so to counter act the English requirement.

No one suggested flouting the law the point was simply made that Mr Ali felt curry chefs score should take into account the demand for this job.

A similar (but by no means the same) example would be a pastry chef, an experienced and professional pastry chef scores extremely high on the immigration points system of some other countries (I think Australia) because there is such a demand for that skills. That’s what controlled immigration is about ,spotting who’s needed or as Tig’s put it training who’s required.

Cheddar must be made in Cheddar, Champagne has to come from France, but curry is curry no matter where you are. Why is that?

Anyway, to start up an Indian restaurant, presumably you need to start with a good chef. If you can't find a chef, just don't open an Indian restaurant... Aren't there any British-Asian people who have picked up cooking skills from their families?

Angie, if they were to go by your theory, then we wouldnt have hardly any indian, chinese, greek, italian, vietnamese, thai,west indian, kebab shops around! Plus most fish and chip shops as most Ive seen are not run by English!

If non Brits were kept out of the fish and chip trade on the basis of not being able to make it as we were used to libs and the media would be outraged WITH CRYS OF`RACISM`
You can`t get decent fish and chips anymore in London.So you may not be able to get a decent curry-thats good.ONE RULE FOR ALL.

A true thing is that alot of fish and chips arnt good but i think thats proffit driven, cheap fat un crispy batter soggy chips wrong spuds ect. The standard indian curryhouse food is slop pattaks all made from the same sauce, ive seen inside a few as i know a lot of them. Another thing is real indian food is totally different from what we think it is. Meat is rare and pulses and veg mostly.I know of very few real indian vegatarian restaurants like you find in india.vindaloo and tika masala are european inspired and not real indian food anyway so what difference it makes is beyond me. The english language requisite though is stupid as people come here to learn the language in the 1st place. To be real the only way to stop all these people wanting to come here is to stop the protectionist one sided globalisation and cash crop economy which strangles and starves third world economies. The price of cofee and cocoa have gone down in the last 50 years through corrupt monopolies and greedy 1st world economies.

fush munky wrote:
A true thing is that alot of fish and chips arnt good but i think thats proffit driven, cheap fat un crispy batter soggy chips wrong spuds ect. The standard indian curryhouse food is slop pattaks all made from the same sauce, ive seen inside a few as i know a lot of them. Another thing is real indian food is totally different from what we think it is. Meat is rare and pulses and veg mostly.I know of very few real indian vegatarian restaurants like you find in india.vindaloo and tika masala are european inspired and not real indian food anyway so what difference it makes is beyond me. The english language requisite though is stupid as people come here to learn the language in the 1st place. To be real the only way to stop all these people wanting to come here is to stop the protectionist one sided globalisation and cash crop economy which strangles and starves third world economies. The price of cofee and cocoa have gone down in the last 50 years through corrupt monopolies and greedy 1st world economies.

Stick to the topic or get back to your lentils (not curried, of course!) and treehouse, instead of jumping on your anti-capitalist soapbox. No one cares...

If you come to these shores, you should speak the indigenous language, or at least make the effort to learn, simple as. Tigs is right about it appearing to be an unwillingness for that certain community to integrate. I've learned how to cook French food because French chefs have imparted their culinary knowledge to me, why can't the same thing be done by Indian chefs with regard to curry spices.

As one can only sympathize with Mr Ali and his comments in regard to matter of struggling to employ skilled curry chefs and being forced to use unskilled workers is a good excuse.There is plenty of people alike who can fill this position and get quite annoyed at the fact when it is put across as just another reason to have even more Indians , by saying we have no idea of which spices are used in a curry. i can assure you i know of many English chefs who run the kitchen's whilst its Indian waiters fronting it out.Its not that difficult to train and there are very good books about, one i can name called curry secret with gives away how restaurants do it. Mark

Gordon did a show on a curry house getting them to make some real indian fod,it can be a english chef. It would be racist to employ only indian looking waiters also.Most indians are family run and many kids dont want to be in that business also. To make a curry fry onions garlic and ginger, add garam masala powder and chili then waht you would like to curry chicken veg ect, thats it simple. I learnt this from an indian lady on you tube she has many recipes, try aloo gobi.Basmati rice is easy to cook too, roti and naan can be learned with practice like pizza bases. Authentic pizza has gone through a similar process being mainstay though most pizza is a deviation on the original and some arguments have been made on this. A scotish millionare has started a curry chain and achieved succes employing local people.Britain seeks to curtail immigration from outside the eu and these language tests aim to do just that. We are after all a small island with limited housing stock and recent influx of new eu members has increaced the pressure on public resources. I have no difficulty making curry myself and it is cheaper that way. However i do have difficulty finding housing. I think this is more important an issue. Also india is not the primary source of chefs it is mostly a bangladeshi run business and that country has serious enviromental problems approaching flooding ect global warming and poverty. As was stated above if we wnt to discourage people from coming here we need to help them secure their futures at home, after all they are part ofhe commonwealth.

Indian food is not hard to make at all, I have been experimenting with some recipes from the internet that are just as good, if not far better than most take-aways I have had while in London. FYI, indian restaurants are few and far between in Canada and would be a good business opp. for those wishing to take it up over here.

If most "Indian" restaurants actually cooked authentic Indian food then he may have a point but most cook Anglo/Bangladeshi formula curries such as Madras and Chicken Tikka Masala which didn't originate in India.

did the english learn zulu in south africa or navajo in america or aboriginal in australia? No this argument to test immigrants is crud. England stole those countrys killed all the people off and slaved workers to turn them into what they are now, Learn iraqi and pashtun you english fools, learn polish too. This cuntry is a cold hell hole with thick grey fools wiyh no culture or curry. Go on jock.learn scotish or gaelic you muppet. For the mess this cuntry has got the world in it should be taken over by people from those parts and it is, you cant stop it now your army is in iraq and afghanistan a hundred fishing boats land every day from africa equipped with machete and night sights, marching on london now , die stupid scum english die out vomit bug splutter!

omwaq wrote:
did the english learn zulu in south africa or navajo in america or aboriginal in australia? No this argument to test immigrants is crud. England stole those countrys killed all the people off and slaved workers to turn them into what they are now, Learn iraqi and pashtun you english fools, learn polish too. This cuntry is a cold hell hole with thick grey fools wiyh no culture or curry. Go on jock.learn scotish or gaelic you muppet. For the mess this cuntry has got the world in it should be taken over by people from those parts and it is, you cant stop it now your army is in iraq and afghanistan a hundred fishing boats land every day from africa equipped with machete and night sights, marching on london now , die stupid scum english die out vomit bug splutter!

You've forgotten to take you medication again.

omwaq wrote:
did the english learn zulu in south africa or navajo in america or aboriginal in australia? No this argument to test immigrants is crud. England stole those countrys killed all the people off and slaved workers to turn them into what they are now, Learn iraqi and pashtun you english fools, learn polish too. This cuntry is a cold hell hole with thick grey fools wiyh no culture or curry. Go on jock.learn scotish or gaelic you muppet. For the mess this cuntry has got the world in it should be taken over by people from those parts and it is, you cant stop it now your army is in iraq and afghanistan a hundred fishing boats land every day from africa equipped with machete and night sights, marching on london now , die stupid scum english die out vomit bug splutter!

Actually it was Arabs and Africans who sold us the slaves, they rounded them up and sold them at the ports. We eventually abolished slavery in the west, but it still goes on in Africa and Egypt.

As a person who has spent nearly 20 years commenting on the Indian restaurant sector and its food and help teach many aspiring Indian chefs about spices I object to Mr Ali's staement that "most Europeans would not know anything about spices". If a specific cuisine can only be cooked by someone from that country we had better tell Gordon ramsay to stop cooking French food and David Thompson the same for Thai food. And by the way, they speak French and Thai respectively. The language of the country one works in is essential to proper communication in order to provide a proper service for the consumer.

i am an indian restauranteur and it is very difficult to get the skilled staff needed to run an indian restaurant. The employees we hire need to be familiar with the kind of cuisine the restaurant is specialising in and need to have knowledge about herbs and spices. If immigration laws are becoming very tight, we need to think of alternative ways in which the indian resaurant industry can be staffed appropriately. Vocational education in this country is at times blanked out, and more emphasis is given to academic rather than vocational (skilled) education. The Government needs a balanced educational system so that the country produces more skilled labour!

Tony wrote:

omwaq wrote: did the english learn zulu in south africa or navajo in america or aboriginal in australia? No this argument to test immigrants is crud. England stole those countrys killed all the people off and slaved workers to turn them into what they are now, Learn iraqi and pashtun you english fools, learn polish too. This cuntry is a cold hell hole with thick grey fools wiyh no culture or curry. Go on jock.learn scotish or gaelic you muppet. For the mess this cuntry has got the world in it should be taken over by people from those parts and it is, you cant stop it now your army is in iraq and afghanistan a hundred fishing boats land every day from africa equipped with machete and night sights, marching on london now , die stupid scum english die out vomit bug splutter!

Actually it was Arabs and Africans who sold us the slaves, they rounded them up and sold them at the ports. We eventually abolished slavery in the west, but it still goes on in Africa and Egypt.

Absolutely Tony - & Rascism & slavery of wmoen in particular is still going on in the countries mentioned above, whereas the UK is legislating against such atrocities!
But the point is, if you dont like it in the "grey, cold Country", why are you here? could it be the Cheap housing, free education, free money (social Security payments), Free healthcare? & above all - The freedom of speech that allowed you to make such stupid comments as those above??

Angie P wrote:
Cheddar must be made in Cheddar, Champagne has to come from France, but curry is curry no matter where you are. Why is that? Anyway, to start up an Indian restaurant, presumably you need to start with a good chef. If you can't find a chef, just don't open an Indian restaurant... Aren't there any British-Asian people who have picked up cooking skills from their families?

No- we are to busy working.

anyways, at least this should stop local high streets having like 6 curry houses. It's more about keeping chefs wages superfically low by having soo much supply!!

yo carla why do all the english go to thailand? whoring. What are all the brothels operating in london and other cities doing? Slavery is here in the uk its home you racist idiot, get a life and an education you facist english. worship your £10 queens picture you thick zenophobe i cant wait for the flooding of your nuclear waste to fujk all you mupets up. Go an have a global warning suntan peaches!i live here cos i was born here like many who live in spain us australia south africa ect.my opinions do not reflect my ethnicity by the way its bigger than that dumbo, look outside the box!

im sorry but this story is hilarious. do they honestly think we will say. 'nah stay in england, work illegally, use our health care. take our houses and jobs, its ok. you make a great curry.

no. go home. we can teach our knife yealding kids how to make a nice curry instead.